Apparatus for handling and loading cars



A ril 10, 1934. B. WILLIAMS APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND LOADING CARS 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Bernard W/ZZ/ama BY QZW 421mm Filed June 7. 1933 ATTORNEY April 10, 1934.

B. WILLIAMS 1,954,16

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND LOADING CARS Filed June 1955 INVENTOR Bernard VV/Z Zia/n5 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 10, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Bernard Williams, Boulder City, Nev.

Application June 7, 1933, Serial No. 674,674

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of loading and handling cars and apparatus for practicing said method.

In the present method of removing one round of dirt shot from an excavation by dynamite, it is necessary to run a car several times up to and away from the power shovel, for loading the car with the dirt shoveled up by the shovel, and for dumping the dirt from the loaded cars at a suitable location remote from the excavation. This method occasions considerable waste of time and is otherwise inefficient in handling the cars.

It is an object of my invention to provide a r new method of handling and loading cars, whereby a round of dirt shot from an excavation may be completely mucked by the power shovel and loaded in the cars, and removed to a suitable location remote from the excavation and dumped, and the cars run back to the excavation the dirt mucked from the excavation by said shovel, and coupling the cars again to said shovel and running the cars and shovel to a location remote from the excavation and dumping the cars.

Another object is to provide a new method of the character stated for handling and loading cars, which is highly eiiicient, practical and economical in operation.

A further object is to provide a suitable apparatus for practicing my novel method.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter as the specification progresses.

The invention is illustrated in the annexed drawings which form a part of this specification and in which,

Fig. l is a side elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention, showing the cars coupled to the power shovel under the car conveyor.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of said apparatus showing the cars uncoupled from the shovel and all the cars, except the foremost car, drawn out from under the car conveyor, the foremost car being also drawn out from under said conveyor, 55 except the forward end of said car, which is shown under the discharge end of said conveyor, in which position of the cars the loading thereof is complete.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic side elevation of said apparatus showing three cars coupled to the shovel under the car-conveyor.

Fig. 5 is a perspective of one end of one of the conveyor track sections.

Fig. 6 is a perspective of one of the bridge members for connecting the adjoining ends of the conveyor track sections of adjoining cars.

Referring in detail to the drawings 1 designates a power shovel, 2 an inclined shovel conveyor and 3 a car conveyor and 4 dump cars.

The inclined shovel conveyor 2 is mounted on the truck 5 of said power shovel, with its forward and lower end in position to receive the dirt excavated by the dipper 6 of said shovel, when said dipper has scooped up a load of dirt and has been brought over said end of said conveyor and dumped said dirt therefrom. The conveyor 2 inclines upwardly in a rearward direction with its upper end extending over the forward end of the car conveyor 3, which end of said car conveyor is mounted on the rear end of the shovel truck 5 by a suitable swivel mounting '7 to enable the conveyor to swing horizontally from the shovel. The rear and discharge end of the car-conveyor 3 is turnably mounted upon a truck 8 by a swivel mounting 8a to enable the conveyor to swing horizontally at its rear end on said truck, which truck travels on a track 9 mounted in sections on the upper edge of the dump cars 4 respectively, the track sections of each car being aligned with the track sections of adjacent cars. l 1

The shovel conveyor 2 may be of the endless belt type, including an endless belt 10, and pulleys 11 and 12, over which pulleys said belt extends, said pulleys being suitably journaled on a conveyor frame 13 which is mounted on the shovel truck 5, there being a hopper 10a mounted on said frame over the lower end of said conveyor to receive the dirt from the shovel dipper and prevent it from falling ofi the lower end of said conveyor. The belt 10 is driven by an electric motor 14 through the medium of the motor shaft 15, standard reduction gearing 16 driven by said motor shaft, sprocket 17 driven by said reduction gearing, sprocket 18 on the shaft 19 of the pulley 12, and chain 20 which extends over said sprockets, said motor being mounted on the shovel truck 5, and said pulley shaft being journaled in bearings 21 on the conveyor frame.

The car-conveyor 3 may be of the endless type including an endless belt 22, and pulleys 23 and 24, over which said belt extends, said pulleys being suitably journaled on the conveyor frame 25, the forward end of which frame is pivotally mounted on the rear end of the shovel truck 5 by the swivel mounting 7 and the rear end of which frame is pivotally mounted on the conveyor truck 8 by the swivel mounting 8a aforesaid, so that the car-conveyor 3 may turn with relation to the shovel and conveyor truck 8 to follow the track on which the cars and shovel travel. The belt 22 is driven by an electric motor 26, through the medium of the motor shaft 27, standard reduction gearing 28 driven by said shaft, sprocket 29 driven by said reduction gearing, sprocket 30 on the shaft 31 of said pulley 24, and chain 32 extending over said sprockets, said motor and reduction gearing being mounted on a bracket outstanding from the conveyor frame 25 and said pulley shaft being journaled in bearings 34 on said frame.

The rails 35 of the track 9, which are mounted on the upper edge of the cars 4, are of channel formation, and the ends of the side members 36 of each section of said rails extend a short distance beyond the ends of the bottom member 3'7 of the rail, while an end extension plate 33 is secured to the under side of said side members and bottom member at each end of each section,

which plate extends a short distance beyond the end of the section, so that the ends of the plates 38, of adjoining rail sections of adjoining cars, extend close together when said adjoining cars 4 are coupled together by couplings 39. Track bars are laid loosely upon the plates 38 of adjoining rail sections of adjoining cars 4 with the ends of said bars between the ends of the side members 36 of said adjoining rail sections and adjacent the ends of the bottom members 3'7 of said sections, so that said bars form bridge members or connecting members between adjoining rail sections, coinciding with the bottom members of said sections, over which bars, the wheels of the truck 8 pass from the bottom member 37 of one rail section of one car to the bottom member 37 of an adjoining rail section of an adjoining car. Stops 41 are provided on the forward ends of the track rails 35 of the foremost car 4, which stops are engaged by the front wheels of the conveyor truck 8, when the cars are drawn out rearwardly from under the conveyor 3, whereby the rearward movement of the cars, with relation to the conveyor, is limited with the forward end of said foremost car resting under the discharge end of said conveyor.

The forward end of the foremost car 4 is coupled to the rear end of the power shovel 1 by a coupling 42. A coupling 43 is provided on the rear end of the rearmost car 4 for coupling an engine to said car for pulling and pushing the cars 4 with or without the shovel according to whether the shovel is or is not coupled to the foremost car.

My method is practiced by the operation of my above-described apparatus as follows:

Several cars 4, preferably three, coupled to-- gether by couplings 39, are run under the car conveyor 3 and the foremost end of the foremost car coupled, by coupling 41, to the rear end of the power shovel truck 5. Said cars and power shovel are then run into the tunnel 44 or other excavation which has been shot one round with dynamite.

"coupled from the shovel 1.

mucked or shoveled up by the shovel dipper 6 and deposited in the hopper 10a upon the lower end of the shovel conveyor belt 10, which conveys the dirt upwardly and rearwardly and deposits said dirt upon the forward end of the car conveyor 3. The car-conveyor 3 conveys the dirt rearwardly over the cars 4 and first discharges said dirt from its rear end into the rear end car. The cars 4 being uncoupled from the shovel, an engine is coupled, by the couplings 43 to the rear end of the rearrnost car and the cars aredrawn one-after-the-other, rearwardly from under the discharge end of the car-conveyor 3, whereupon said cars are successively loaded with dirt discharged from the rear end of said conveyor, the'wheels of the truck 8 traveling in the track 9 on the cars until the front wheels of said truck engage the stops 41, whereby further rearward movement of the cars with relation to said conveyor is arrested, with the forward end portion of the foremost car under the discharge end of said conveyor, in which position of the cars all of the cars are loaded with all the dirt of the one round which has been shot and mucked or shoveled up, by the shovel 1. The cars are then again run under the conveyor 3 and the foremost ear coupled to the shovel by the coupling 41, and the cars and shovel are then runout to a location remote from the excavation, where the cars are dumped, during which time the excavation is again shot one round for the next cycle of operations of my apparatus. The above described operations are then repeated until the excavating job is completed.

The bridge cars 43 provide loose connecting joints between the adjoining ends of the track sections of adjoining cars, so that said sections may turn with relation to each other as the cars turn relatively to each other in following the track on which the cars travel.

Either side dump or bottom dump cars may be used in the apparatus for practicing my invention.

The cars could be loaded when moved forwardly under the car-conveyor instead of rearwardly as above described.

I do not limit my invention to the exact disclosure herein because various changes may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. Apparatus for handling and loading cars comprising a power shovel, a shovel conveyor for conveying the dirt from said shovel, an endless car-conveyor onto which the dirt is discharged from said shovel conveyor, and which discharges the dirt from its rear end, a plurality of cars arranged to be run under said car-conveyor to be loaded with the dirt discharged from said carconveyor a track mounted on said cars and a truck arran ed to travel on said track over said cars successively, and on which truck said carconveyor is mounted.

2. Apparatus for handling and loading cars comprising a power shovel, a shovel conveyor for conveying dirt from said shovel, a car-conveyor onto which the dirt is discharged from said shovel conveyor, a plurality of cars arranged to be run under said car-conveyor to be loaded with dirt discharged from said car-conveyor, a track mounted on said cars, a truck arranged to travel on said track and on which truck said car-conveyor is mounted, and stops on one end of said track to be engaged by the wheels of said truck a track mounted on said cars, and a truck arranged to travel on said track over said cars successively, said car-conveyor being pivotally mounted on said shovel and on said truck so that said car-conveyor may turn with relation to said shovel and said truck may turn with relation to said car-conveyor to follow the track on which the cars and shovel travel.

BERNARD WILLIAMS. 

